There is room for rapid career progression whilst allowing consultants to pace their careers without the burden of an “up or out” policy.

My path to consulting was quite varied – I served two years in the armed forces as a second lieutenant, was a consultant in international tax services, received an MBA, and even tried my hand at equity research. Ultimately, I realized that consulting offered the best opportunity to receive a holistic picture of how businesses operate.

I chose Oliver Wyman over other job offers because it presented the most attractive value proposition. In particular, I placed a lot of value on the firm’s approach to career development: there is room for rapid career progression whilst allowing consultants to pace their careers without the burden of an “up or out” policy. I liked the idea that this fast progression is achieved through early specialization, especially because coming out of MBA I was keen to focus on financial services. Finally, the culture here is incredibly friendly, and the people are truly smart, coming from the top universities around the world.

Quick assimilation

I joined as an experienced hire expected to manage projects, clients and team members. I therefore knew that my previous experiences would be useful as I would apply my project management and problem-structuring skills to my new environment. Looking back, I am very pleased with the way that my Oliver Wyman career has been developing. I was initially given the time and support I needed to come up to speed and gain my footing; however, before long, I was given the opportunity to orchestrate larger projects with bigger teams and a greater degree of independence.

Outside of client work

I’m very involved in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including Experienced Hires of Oliver Wyman (EHOW) and Family Life at Oliver Wyman (FLOW). I recently had a daughter, which made it increasingly difficult for me to travel. Thankfully, my Talent Manager was absolutely supportive and has since assigned me to London-based projects whenever possible so that I can get home in the evenings. Finally, I swim every weekend with my ex-LBS classmates and then we go for a heavy meal to ensure we don’t lose any calories!